ERIC Number: EJ1067552
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1927-6044
EISSN: N/A
Can Near-Peer Teaching Improve Academic Performance?
Williams, Brett; Fowler, James
International Journal of Higher Education, v3 n4 p142-149 2014
Near peer teaching is becoming increasingly popular within healthcare education. The experiences and effects of near-peer teaching upon the near-peer teachers' academic performance are poorly understood. In order to address this, the objective of this study was to examine whether a near-peer teaching program improved the overall clinical unit scores of undergraduate paramedic near-peer teachers. Students in their final year of an undergraduate paramedic, or nursing/paramedic degree were given the opportunity to volunteer as near-peer teachers for a first year clinical skills unit. The overall unit scores in a final year clinical unit of 74 students involved in the near-peer teaching program were compared with a randomly selected sample not involved. 74 students participated in this study as near-peer teachers between 2011-2013 (n = 23 in 2011, n = 18 in 2012, n = 33 in 2013). In each year, the median clinical unit grade of participating near-peer teachers was significantly higher than that of the students not involved in the near-peer teaching program when examined using a Mann-Whitney U Test (71 vs 67, p = 0.006 in 2011; 76 vs 72, p = 0.007 in 2012; 75 vs 71, p = 0.004 in 2013). This study has demonstrated that participation in a near-peer teaching program can result in improved overall clinical unit grades for undergraduate paramedic near-peer teachers. This study has added objective data to the variety of subjective information evaluating the effects of near-peer teaching upon the teachers themselves.
Descriptors: Peer Teaching, Academic Achievement, Undergraduate Students, Allied Health Personnel, Foreign Countries, Teaching Methods, Grades (Scholastic), Comparative Analysis, Program Effectiveness, Statistical Analysis, Surveys, Student Characteristics
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A